Grain car closure



y 1, 1951 F. x. OUELLET ET AL I 2,5 0,856

GRAIN CAR CLOSURE Filed Oct. 15, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Attorneys F. X. OUELLET ET AL I May 1, 1951 GRAIN CAR CLOSURE s Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 13, 1944 IHIHHIHHHIIHIllHIIHIHIIHHIHIHHIIIIHIIHIIIIIHIII I on Inventors Gazelle? wzzzyoas x.

Attorneys May 1, 1951 F. x. OUELLET ET AL 6 GRAIN CAR CLOSURE Filed 001;. 13, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 flmflwe j Inventors fiaizgaw J6. OzzeZZei k Attorneys Patented May 1, 1 951 STATES PATIENT. OF F ICE.

GAR CLOSURE Francois xavier Ouellet, Beauportvillea and Alex.- andre FDorion, Quebec, Quebec; Canada Application 'ctoben13, 1944; Serial No; 558,523?

60 pounds/per bushel 'forwheat 56 pounds per bushel for-corn 34 pounds per bushel for oat 48"'pounds=perbushel for "barley, etc;

Whemit is: considered; that arcarvmay contain up :to: 2000 bushels. of grain; the. lateralatension exerted; on. the: door will be readilyapparent;

Consequently, ,the: emptyingi off a: boarded 1. and

loaded grainzca-rr' is: always- 21; prcblemtand: repre sents? a: rocedure fraught with. dangers. As." a

matter; of.. fact; the; individual boards; when sledgedxldose; are: very aIIb tOwbG -d'iifiOGgGfi with.

explosiyesviolenceatoz constitute a distinct: cause of; inj uries'rtoothe workers near' by; Again, the; unloading operators, conscious of their personal safety, generally removeth'evboards: inosuohi a manner. that destruction? thereof. isisonly: a'aseeondary; consideration; .as :airesult,v the: destroyed boards-are no longer useful for" their original purposev The present inventionchasz been conceived to avoid among others, the! disadvantages noted above. Consequently, the. primary object of'rthe inventionmay be-stated to reside instheprovision ofaclosure of improved character for grain cars; Another object is the provisionoi a. door for grain cars which is capable of:v expeditingand facilitatingunloading and adaptabletto be safely opened with a simple hand implement as the only: toolv needed.

A further object concernsa door-of thecharacter described, the component parts of which are adapted to be used .over and overl againr Still another object relates tea/grain carldoor of simple character and-of relatively inexpensive construction adaptable. easily to existing cars without major alterations.

A..still further object provides; for-a. grainycar cl'bsurewhich does, not. interfere with-the. car sliding. doors; easily. put up, and) removed' and which is adaptable to the unloadingofi'theigrain contentseither in bulk or iniha si.

Other objects *and" advantages of. theginventioni 2. willabe described, or further pointed out, during. the description to follow Asan example'andfor'purposes of illustration only, an embodiment of the invention is shown inathemannexed drawings, wherein:

Figure lisa front view of theolosure according,

to the-inventionand installed in the door openingof." a. conventional. freight box car, only a portion of:- which isshown,

Eig-ure 2-.-is,-aplan-r sectional view taken approximately. above .themiddle of the closure,

Figure 3 is a detailed perspective of the closure locking-members shown in Figure 1,

Figure dis enlarged elevational view. of the trapedoor. embodied :in; .therclosure shown in Fig.- u-re L-and depicting. more particularly the hinging-and locking-means Tor-said trap :door,

Figured is a vertical section taken through thecentreof the closure lower panel shown in-Figure 4;,

F'igurefix is arpartial section. through the hinge means o;f ,..theJ-trap door showing, in enlarged detailrthe construetionof said hinge,

Figure- 7istamhorizontal section taken through.

Figure9lis aperspectiveview showing a specialhopperflin-place over the trap door for bag-filling purposes, .and

Figure 10is a perspective view of a special hand tool 'for. operating: the locking means, and. lifting thewtrap door securing members as shown in dotted lines in Figure 5.

Referring. to.v the. drawings, wherein similar reference characters represent correspondingv partsthroughouhthe letter B indicates generallya. box car-having a door opening, on both sidesv thereof,lsaid.;openingbeing adapted to be normally closed by. the, sliding door D movableoni. the rail R7 at -theflbottomthereof, and suspended onlanother rail. at the top underthe canopy Al. As is usual,.saiddoor opening extends. between the roof and floor of the car and 'bounded on both sides by jamb plates J. As shown to advantage in Figure 1, the closure of the invention. adapting. an ordinary boxcar to 'serve'as agrain-carrier, consists, essentially of amainilower-panel i5. and a number of narrower separatepanels or boards,,such asJGand [1, disposed above, the main. panel. and extending. up.- wardlyqacrossethe car'door opening, the number ofisaidlsmallr panelsor boards. beingcalculated soithat "a; space is.lftjtherebetweentandftheroot of the car for convenience in filling said car by means of the modern grain-conveyor compressedair pipe; in order to reinforce the bottom of the main panel and locate the same accurately against displacement, a bottom sill S is secured to the lower edge of said panel and provided with locating pins P adapted to enter corresponding apertures formed in the floor boarding B.

The panels [5, l6 and II are preferably made of wood and of dimensions such as to resist effectively the pressure of the grain loaded in the car. Furthermore, they are disposed from the inside of the car, against the door jambs, so as to be tightly pressed thereagainst by the material loaded behind said boards. The retaining members, shown in Figure 3 and indicated generally by the numeral 26, consist of latch members 2| adapted to engage slots 22 formed on the side of the door jambs, said members being operated by a lever 23 formed thereon, both said lever and latch being off set outwardly from a portion 24 which is pivoted to the outer end of the board by means of a rivet or bolt 25.

For the purpose of removing from immediately behind the closure enough grain to cause a reduction of pressure behind the boards and panels, a trap door 30 is provided in the approximate centre of the main panel I5, said door being lockable and removably hinged on said panel through the intermediary of means to be presently described.

The trap door is preferably of elongated rectangular form and adapted to fit snugly in a corresponding aperture of the main panel l5, which aperture is provided with a marginal rabbet 3 l. The said trap door is normally hinged at the top thereof and swingable outwardly from the main panel l; as shown to advantage in Figure 5, the door hinges 33 are so designed that the door maybe entirely removed and disconnected from the main panel. For that purpose,

the upper strap 34 of the hinges 33 is secured to the panel and provided, in the usual manner, with a knuckle 35 carrying the hinge pin. The lower strap 36 of the hinge, which strap is secured to the upper margin of the trap door 30, is formed with hooks 31 instead of the complementary knuckle, so that the lower strap of the hinge may be disconnected from the upper one, or slid away therefrom when the-door is angularly elevated, as shown in Figure 5. Consequently, the door can be entirely removed and set aside during unloading operation, if desired. Inasmuch as the hinge just described might not be strong enough to resist the pressure exerted on the door by the grain, a reinforcing plate 40 is provided on the inside of said door, opposite each hinge, said strap being preferably retained to the upper edge of the trap door, and projecting upwardly therefrom, by means of the carriage bolt or the like 4| securing the strap 36 to said door. As an added precaution against bulging of the door in the upper middle thereof, a third strap 43 is similarly disposed at the upper centre of said door and secured by the bolts 44 (see Fig. 4).

The hinged trap door is normally held in closed position by means of wedge cleats 45 pivoted at 38 on the panel l5 and adjacent the lower corners of said trap door. As shown to advantage in Figure 4, the lower end of the wedge cleats is adapted to be received in sockets 46 also secured to the panel I5 and so disposed thatwhen the wedges are engaged in the sockets, the said cleats 4 shall overlap the lower corners of the door to retain the same in closed position. An additional cleat 41 is also pivoted to the lower centre of the trap door and adapted to enter its corresponding socket 58 on the panel l5. All the wedge cleats mentioned above are provided with right angularly projecting lugs 49 extending outwardly from said cleats and the purpose of which is to facilitate the disengagement thereof from their sockets, this disengagement being preferably effectuated by means of the tool shown in Figure 10, and which comprises a thin bar-like extension 55 projecting outwardly from the body 5!. Lateral extensions 52 and 53 are terminated respectively by a hammer-forming enlargement 54 and a socket wrench 55, the purpose of which last will be described later. Referring to Figure 5, it will be seen that the extension 56 being inserted under the lug 49 and the enlargement 54 rested on the floor of the car, downward pressure on the outer end 56 of the tool shown in Figure 10 shall readily lift the cleats from their sockets, without effort, due to the leverage of the said tool.

To prevent unauthorized opening of the trap door, as when a loaded grain car is in transit, locking and sealing means are provided, the lock consisting of elongated bars 66 disposed on the inside of the door and acting as bolts, the' ends of which extend below the lower edge of the door, over the lower margin of the trap door opening, so as to effectively prevent the outward displacement of the trap door. The inner end of each bolt bar 66 is secured to a crank-like extension Gl, said extension being formed at the inner end of a barrel 62 hollowed-out in the middle and in the centre of which is a square projection 63 extending outwardly, just short of the outer end of said barrel. As shown to advantage in Figures 5 and '7, the barrel is provided with an outer peripheral annular channel 64 into which the halves 65 of a split collar plate 66 are adapted to enter. Inasmuch as the said collar plate is secured to the trap door by the screws 61, the barrel is therefore rotatably retained in place in approximately the centre of the trap door. 4

The foregoing, taken in conjunction with the showing of Figure 4, should make apparent'the fact that whenever the barrel 62 is rotated, the bolt bars 60 will be correspondingly actuated. In order to guide the outer end of said bars properly, guide members H3 are provided on the inside of the trap door, said guides being apertured to receive the outer end of said bolt and provided with outwardly projecting spurs H preventing the disengagement of the bolts from the guides. Therefore, the trap door may be locked or unlocked by the simple expedient of rotating the barrel 62, the socket head 55 of the tool 5| being especially adapted for this purpose since the square socket formed at the end of head 55 is calculated to fit exactly over the square projection 63.

The sealing means already mentioned are essentially composed of a shallow square cover pivoted to a strap 8| secured to the door, which cover is adapted to be swung over the outer end of the barrel 62 so as to conceal the same, the said cover being retained in closed position by means of a hook 82 or the wire-seal 83 shown in dotted lines in Figure '7; both said hook and seal being insertable under a staple 85 which is adapted to project through a slot formed in an exten- 75 sion 86 of the cover.-

means of the tool used to remove th wedge cleats from their respective sockets. Thereafter, the door will open of its own accord, due to the pressure of the grain, but in such a manner that physical injury resulting from this opening is' very unlikely. The trap door being opened, enough of the grain should be removed from the car, immediately behind the closure, so that after a very short tim the upper panel I! may be removed easily by hand, as well as the lower panel l6, as soon as said panels are free from internal pressure. The main panel [5 may be removed later on and access to the rest of the grain in the car gained very shortly for unloading purposes by hand or with mechanical apparatus.

The closure of the invention is easily adaptable to the filling of grain bags, as shown in Figure 9, wherein a conical hopper 90, open on on side, is adapted to be removably secured against the main panel by means of hooks 9| adapted to enter the eyes 92 bolted to the panel. As illustrated, said hopper is of a size conforming very substantially to that of the door, so that said door, when in open position, may constitute the top of the hopper to prevent lossof grain. Furthermore, the hopper itself is open at the top, so that the trap door 30 may be operated easily even after the hopper has been installed on the panel I 5. Finally, the hopper is terminated at the bottom by a square pipe or the like 95 in which a sliding valve 96 is disposed for regulating, or entirely interrupting, the flow of grain therethrough: In use, the bags are simply disposed below the pipe 95 and the valve 96 operated until said bags have been filled. Thus, according to the invention, it would be a simple and economical matter to empty a load of valuable grain, for instance, into bags or other containers, for distribution of said load in small quantities. Obviously, with the hopper described above, the filling of said bags can be quickly effectuated with the minimum loss of material being loaded.

From the foregoing, it will be evident that the present invention is an advance of the art in that it permits transforming an ordinary box-car into a carrier for grain, said transformation being effectuated by means of an improved closur for the door opening of the car, said closure having pressure releasing means at the bottom thereof rendering unnecessary the prying or otherwise loosening of the closing panels, as is the usual custom. Due to the fact that the grain is released from a small area, th pressures encountered are consequently reduced and the operation of the pressure releasing means can be effectuated without danger to operator and damage to the constituent elements of the closure. Furthermore, according to the invention, it is contemplated to use special means for securing the closure in place and for locking and sealing the pressure releasing means. Again, an hopper device is adaptable to the releasing means for conveying the released material in such a way that it may be quickly, conveniently and economically loaded into bags or like small containers.

As material advantages resulting from the above, may be stated:

1. The overlapping joints prevent loss of grain and should cause a reduction of insuranc rates;

2. The closure being easily removable and usable again will prevent broken panels and boards on every car handled, while the saving in time and labour represents less delay in unloading cars and a faster release of said cars.

It must be understood that various changes as to the size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of th invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

Trap door locking means comprising guide members adapted to be fastened on the inside of said door, elongated bars slidable through said guide members to project at their outer end from the edge of said door, a crank-like member to which said bars are pivotally secured at their inner end, a barrel secured to said crank-like member and extending through said door, said barrel hollowed out in the middle and forming in said hollow a central square projection, said barrel further provided with an outer peripheral channel, and a split collar plat engaging said channel and adapted to be secured to said'trap door.

FRANCOIS XAVIER OUELLET.

ALEXANDRE DORION.

, REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 197,552 Hinck Nov. 27, 1877 309,601 Broughton Dec. 23, 1884 596,050 Byrnes Dec. 28, 1897 678,701 Tuor July 16, 1901 695,165 Miller Mar. 11, 1902 720,289 Scott et al Feb. 10, 1903 875,047 Bursik Dec. 31, 1907 942,551 Driskell Dec. 7, 1909 991,344 Minor May 2, 1911 1,172,320 Tholstrop Feb. 22, 1916 1,566,236 Skurdal Dec. 15, 1925 1,707,064 Martin et al Mar. 26, 1929 1,721,112 Hake July 16, 1929 

